true, however there's a big difference between knowing the basics and holding your own against a true master, as I was painfully taught by a grand master martial artist when my youthful ego once overstepped my capability

Ah yeah, my biggest mistake was scoring a lucky hit by doing something onorthodox while practicing.. while it felt great for amoment it also meant that I learned he was going easy on me, and while my attack succesfully surprised me i never got close to a hit again and he made sure to punish every minor mistake I made... and I learned fast that I made loads of them that he could punish but before my attack he never bothered to exploit.